Chapter One  Stuff of Legends
by Keyoshi
Summary: Well, this is my first fanfic I'm going to be posting! Please read and enjoy! After reading, please comment and tell me if i should continue or not!  Also, I'm making and entire world of my own. My planes, my areas. All that good stuff!


A slight sizzle could be heard from the droplets of rain that fell from the pooled leaves and onto the hot rocks. The tedious rain had finally passed and was moving on to the Valley of Kross. The morning sun twinkled gently on a sharp arrow head that poked ever so slight through the bush. It was finally spring, and time for the beings of the forest to wake from their winter sleep. Lila had been waiting in the shadows all morning for the deer to come and graze on grass fresh with morning dew. And her patience was about to pay off.

Gentle rustling sounded as a doe stepped into the clearing, straight into it's own despair. With a grin, Lila pulled back on the bow string. Just as her muscles tensed from the release a small fawn shyly stepped into the clearing along side the doe. Lila's shoulders dropped instantly as she lowered her arms, a heaviness filling her. With a sigh she stood, her movements swift and soundless.

"It's all right you know." A whisper was at her ear as a hand gently squeezed her shoulder. She watched as the two deer stood straight at the voice, eyes fixed on the shadows where Lila and her visitor hid. With a few seconds passing the doe looked at her fawn and leaned her head back down to graze once more.

With a soft grumbled, Lila lept up the branches of the pine. There was a leap after her, her visitor ruffling her hair around her face. Her father, Marcus, stared at her with gentle eyes as he leaned on the smoothed bark. "A child should never be with out it's mother. We will find other means of food, don't worry. For now, you need to get home. You have preparations to make for the stories tonight. I will finish up the hunting, let that ease your mind. Your mother will be waiting on you." Lila looked down at the deer before jumping down silently and running through the thick towards home.

As she saw the clearing where her village lay, her pace slowed as a filling of dread washed over her. She would be coming home with no food, even though her father would be taking care of it himself. She was one of the hunters, and it was her responsibility. She looked down, ashamed as she strode slowly and solemnly into her home. Her mother stood at the entrance of their hut that was held up in the tall thick trees. A loving look was on her face as she pulled Lila into her arms. Her mother new what was wrong, she always did. It was only because she could feel emotions, it was one of the many traits she had because of who she really was. She was not part of the elven people Lila had grown up with, she was part of the merfolk. The people who seemed to have strange yet intriguing abilities to read thoughts, actions, feelings and who knows what else.

"You know, you really don't have to worry. You're father will take care of everything, all you need to worry about is helping your grandfather set up the pit. Tonight is your night, and I'm sure the children will be looking forward to it." She smiled as she pulled Lila to the hollowed oak that the children loved to play in. "I remember when you were small, you loved the old legends. You looked forward to this one night that the village celebrated every year. Now, go find you're grandfather, he's already started on the decorations, but you know how his body can give out on him sometimes. If you need me, I will be with the others preparing food." A kiss was placed on Lila's forehead as she pulled away and turned from her mother. She was right. What she needed to worry about was the celebration. Her father would make sure the hunting was taken care of.

Lila pushed aside the branches of the willow that acted as a curtain around the large tree where her grandfather waited. Large smoothly carved benches sat around a metal fire pit where a hollowed trunk was propped up behind. Her grandfather looked up, his eyes glimmering with a childlike joy as he walked to her with a limp in his stride to wrap his shrinking old arms around her. "You look well Lila. I'm so glad that you are helping me with all this. As you can see, I have made a mess." A gentle chuckle mixed with a cough came from him as he turned and looked at the pile of branches, leaves and pinecones scattered wildly on the forest floor. "I tried to carry them all at once. I guess that really wasn't the best idea."

A faint smile came to her lips as she walked to the mess and began kicking at the debris and pushing it into a pile. "What do you need my help with, Papa?" She bent to pick up some of the sticks to throw them into the huge metal pit. "Mom said you need my help with some stuff, but everything looks fine. Well, almost everything." She snickered as she picked up a few more sticks along with some pinecones, chunking those into the pit as well.

Her grandfather watched as the pit began to fill with the twigs and cones. "Nothing much anymore. All that needs to be done is the food table, and I know darned well that you and I can't get that huge thing set up. We can leave that to the younger and stronger men on the village." He winked as he began to lead Lila out of the large enclosure and towards the lake front. "You should go and read the legends so that you know what you will be telling tonight. I understand you have heard them all your life and have read them hundreds of times, but it never hurts to refresh you're memory." With that, he was gone, as always vanishing into the air with the wind. And in his place sat Lila's small rolled up pages where the legends were written. She sat with her back to the tree as she pulled her shoes off to dip her toes in the water. Unrolling the paper she began to read the very lines that she had started with every morning and night for the past year.

_Let us start from the beginning, because the beginning is as good as any a place to start. A world is covered in peace and serenity. All is well. Children are heard laughing and men hardily doing their work in the fields. Villages filled with the sweet and mouth watering fragrance of baking bread and dinner that waited for families to return home from a long days work. _

_King Azareth sat atop a hill staring blanking into the evening sky. His eyes were fixated on the sun that began to set just beyond the tree tops. Just as any other day, the wind blew gently and the waters of the Angarthia Ocean were calm with a ripple every now and again that was caused by the merfolk children that played near the surface. The king had spent all morning on duty at the palace gates in the capital, Zoa. It was such a peaceful place, he wondered why he was even needed for protection. There was no thievery or killing. Even men and women had no desire to comment adultery. But there was great talk of black power in the Karnann kingdom to the north. _

_Azareth's father told him of the kingdom Karnann when he was young. As a boy, he thought nothing of it, but now, with knowledge of what a threat this dark power could be, he worried for his people when the time for war was to come. _

"_King, your wife Sailen is calling for you." Maizo, his bishop was loyal to him, more so than any other in the palace. And with that faith and trust in a friend, would soon become hate and hot tears. For at the very moment that Azareth stood from the hill, the ground sputtered as if it were boiling water instead of rock and dirt. With a feverish roar a being burst forth from the land. Trees flew from every angle, the bark splintering and raining down like thousands of arrows to pierce and slash at the king. _

_Azareth knelt to the ground in pain as he wiped blood from his eyes only for more to fall from his lashes as he peered up at the beast. It was truly horrifying. The size was well over the mass of the large wooden cottage. Razor sharp claws dug into the ground over and over again as a slime dripped from its fangs that hung from the massive beak that was lined with small pin point teeth. It's lioness pawns stood firm under the feathered body of a lion as it's double tipped scorpion tail waved furiously through the air to curl up behind it's back. Dark eyes stared down at him with pupils crossed that seemed to be a combination of a cat and goat. With a hiss like a snake the beast pulled it's massive paw in the air and swept at the frozen king._

_The creatures paw slammed into Azareth, sending him flying across a mass of land to smash into the ground. With shaking arms, Azareth forced himself to his feet as the beast turned to him once more, a grim chuckle echoing behind it. "Azareth, I thought you were suppose to be the greatest fighter in the land. Or are you to weak to defeat this beast of mine?" Maizo stepped from behind the monster, a sinister grin on his face. Surprise struck Azareth as he stood straight, the pain forgotten._

"_Maizo! You betray the man who took you in and cared for you when you were hanging onto a mere thread of life! I promise you that this will be the end of you!" With that, the ground rumbled under Azareth and cracked at his feet, the opening in the _firmament _trailing it's way to the beast. Fire licked at the edged of the earth as the dirt and rock parted instantly pulling Maizo, the creature and Azareth into a hell that would never be seen by any other. Roars of the beast mixed with cries of the falling men as the ground swelled and vines lashed out at opposite ends of the opened, cracked earth and stitched the land back together. And with the last strand of grass in it's place, soldiers ran into the clearing only to find a peaceful field with a low hill where the king once sat._

_It was not to long before the kingdom sent it's best hunters out in search of their king and his bishop. Little did they know that the two men and the beast would not be found and that the bishop had not left the surface of this world without leaving his own present hidden within the kingdom._

"Lila, it's getting dark. You need to get ready." The gently hand of her mother pulled her up from the ground, and out of the story that Lila had so many times before been sucked into. "Have fun tonight. I know the people will love listening to the story, as they always do." A smile lit both of their faces as Lila rolled up the mass of papers she once again was unable to finish reading. With the story in mind she walked to the hut where the night of a new beginning awaited her


End file.
